CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 178: THE CORRUPT COUNTY MAGISTRATE

178 Corrupt County Magistrate

He had never attended school and wasn’t very good at arithmetic, but he clearly remembered how much he had paid last year.

His youngest son had just turned five, not yet old enough to pay taxes, and his elderly mother was over fifty-six, which previously exempted her from the poll tax. So, the amount should definitely be less than last year’s.

At this, the tax collector standing by suddenly said coldly, "The rules have changed this year, didn’t you know? Now, seniors must be sixty years old to be exempt from tax! So, you still owe five hundred and five coins!"

"Huh?" The old man’s face fell, his distress obvious. But in the end, he said no more. He obediently handed over the five hundred and five coins and left, crestfallen.

After the old man, it was Butcher Zhao’s turn, who was waiting behind him.

Butcher Zhao, grinning foolishly, presented his household registry and the slip from last year’s population count.

The village chief glanced at him. "What’s your name?"

Butcher Zhao quickly replied, "Replying to you, Village Chief, my name is Zhao Xingwang."

"Hmm," the village chief nodded, found Zhao Xingwang’s name in the registry, then said, "Zhao Xingwang from Zhao Village, correct?"

Butcher Zhao nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes."

"Hmm," the village chief said without looking up, merely grunting. He started flicking the beads on his abacus and chanting, "Zhao Xingwang: four adults, two children eight years and older. Your household sells meat, a commercial enterprise, so the poll tax is doubled. Adults, two hundred and forty coins. Children eight years and older, forty-six coins."

He looked up at Butcher Zhao and then stated, "Total: one hundred and fifty-two coins."

Zhao Zhitong was stunned. The poll tax for merchants was actually doubled!

Grandpa Bai then explained that in ancient times, agriculture was heavily favored over commerce. This taxation policy was an imperial measure to prevent everyone from going into business, which would leave no one to farm the land.

Butcher Zhao and the surrounding crowd reacted calmly, as if they were quite used to such things. Butcher Zhao quickly took out one hundred coins, then counted out another fifty-two copper coins, and handed them all to the village chief.

After Butcher Zhao, it was an old man Zhao Zhitong didn’t recognize, probably a villager from another village.

Behind this villager was Mr. Zhao, her grandfather. Mr. Zhao clearly wanted to acknowledge Zhao Zhitong, but she wasn’t looking his way, so he suppressed the urge several times. When it was finally Mr. Zhao’s turn, the village chief, after checking the household registry, looked up at him with a smile. "You have an Elementary Scholar in the family?"

Mr. Zhao beamed and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, my grandson passed the exam to become an Elementary Scholar."

"Alright." The village chief nodded. "An Elementary Scholar is entitled to three taels of silver. After deducting your family’s poll tax, you’ll still receive two taels of silver and two hundred coins."

With that, he handed the silver to Mr. Zhao.

Zhao Zhitong was baffled again. She asked Grandpa Bai, "Why do others have to pay money, while this grandfather of mine actually gets money back?"

Grandpa Bai thought for a moment. "In ancient times, scholars held a very high status. If one was a scholar, not only were they exempt from taxes, but they also received an annual living subsidy from the state."

"Oh, so that’s how it is!" Zhao Zhitong’s face lit up with understanding. "Then, since I study too, can I also get money?"

Grandpa Bai stroked his beard and chuckled. "Silly girl, one doesn’t become a scholar just by reading a few books. A scholar needs official status, at least that of an Elementary Scholar."

"Oh, I see." Zhao Zhitong blinked, a little disappointed.

Zhao Zhitong stood right at the front, watching the village chief intently as he worked his abacus. The village chief had noticed her long ago, but seeing that the little girl was quiet and not causing any trouble, he paid her no mind.

Time passed, and the queue moved slowly. Soon, it was almost Zhao Dong’s turn.

Just then, the tax collector stepped out for a moment. When he returned, he announced another change, saying he had just received notice from higher-ups: the age for children liable for the capitation tax was being lowered from eight to six!

The queued villagers, apart from looking dismayed, showed no major reaction, as if they were accustomed to such sudden rule changes.

The common folk dared not challenge officials. They were just ordinary people; all they could do was pay the tax, sigh, and leave.

At this point, Grandpa Bai suddenly spoke. "Girl, don’t you find it odd? The tax collector suddenly changes the rules, effectively increasing the tax for some, yet hardly any of the villagers seem to have brought too little money?"

Zhao Zhitong blinked and thought back. It was true. Apart from a very few who were short a couple of coins and were told by the tax collector to go home and get them, most people had brought enough. Even her father, before leaving the house, had taken an extra hundred coins on top of the calculated poll tax amount.

Grandpa Bai sighed. "It seems that sudden policy changes like today’s have happened frequently in the past. So, the villagers have developed a habit of bringing extra money when they come to pay taxes."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhitong’s little face scrunched up.

By now, the tax queue had reached Zhao Dong. His children, Zhao Yu and Zhao Ya, had both turned eight this year, so they had to pay the tax whether the policy changed or not. For them, it was manageable.

Zhao Dong quickly paid the tax and then left, carrying Zhao Zhitong.

Along the way, Zhao Zhitong overheard snippets of conversation from passersby.

"Sigh! Did you end up paying more poll tax this year?"

"You bet! My youngest just turned six, so that was an extra twenty-three coins!"

"Sigh, my parent isn’t fifty-six yet, so we didn’t have to pay more for them this year. But who knows about next year? If next year’s policy for seniors is still sixty, my family will have to pay an extra one hundred and twenty coins!"

"Still, at least they didn’t increase every tax item. I heard that in Lin County last year, they directly raised the poll tax by ten coins for everyone. How unscrupulous!"

"Shush, don’t talk so loud! Be careful someone doesn’t overhear."

...

Zhao Zhitong glanced curiously at the speakers, then whispered to her father, "Daddy, was it the County Magistrate who changed the policy? He must be a corrupt official!"

To think the County Magistrate who dined at our house and seemed so kind is actually a bad official! Humph!

Zhao Zhitong pouted, already planning in her heart to tell Uncle Pei, the next time she saw him, that the County Magistrate was a bad official and that Uncle Pei should punish him!

Hearing Zhao Zhitong call the County Magistrate a corrupt official, Zhao Dong was startled. He quickly shushed her. "Don’t say such things in public."

Although their family now had a connection with the King of Chu, their actual influence wasn’t their own.

Besides, the King of Chu was in the Capital City, far, far away. Their family had only recently become prosperous; it was best to avoid inviting trouble.

And with that, he hurried home with Zhao Zhitong.

「The next day」

Zhao Zhitong told Qiao Muchen, Zhao Yue, Wei Shulan, and the others about her experience with the village chief collecting taxes.

The four of them were very curious about taxation and began to discuss it animatedly.

Zhao Zhitong asked, "What do you all think? When the tax collector changes the rules like that, is it because the County Magistrate is embezzling our silver?"

Qiao Muchen tapped his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, "That’s not necessarily true. My father’s books say that one must have evidence for any accusation. We have no proof that the County Magistrate is a bad official, so we can’t just randomly suspect people. There are many possibilities in this situation. For example, it could be the village chief, or perhaps the tax collectors themselves are lining their own pockets."